I couldn't think. The only image that my mind didn't refuse comprehending was that of a burning child. Even Eirrír's desperate pleas couldn't pull me out

of this cognitive stasis. Having come to terms with the fact that I was unable to move, my friend resorted to carrying me away. A bit of blood seeping from

my nose stained his shirt. My head stayed close to his as he struggled to drag me somewhere else. Leaves of fall As a result, I could very clearly him

mumbling to himself.

"Why... why... why... I can't tell anyone. I can't tell anyone. If they find out, they'll hurt me. I can't tell anyone. Why..."

Finally, I started to recuperate from my affliction. His sudden panic at this traumatic incident was truly heartbreaking to witness. "I-It's..."was the only

thing I could get out of my mouth while trying to comfort him. "F-Farriz? Are you awake?" he asked in his deeply distressed voice. Wavering and faltering,

the intonation of his voice went wild as he tried to grasp onto something that would give him ease of mind. "It's f-fine" I whispered. "You were defending

us. They won't hurt you..."

Before long, the alarming footsteps of teachers and small children alike were drawing closer. My innocence was evident, yet it was clear that Eirrír had

gotten himself into at least some trouble. Guilt washed over me as I ruminated on my inaction. Maybe if I was able to defend myself, I thought, he would be

safe. None of this would've happened. The kid wouldn't be burning right now.

He was burning. An all-consuming fire had been released upon his flesh, and if not quenched soon enough it would irreparably damage him.

"Wait... He's burning, we-"

Before I could fully alert the young mage, a young woman turned the corner. She was familiar, and I assumed her to be Eirrír's teacher. She stared at us

with widened eyes.

"Are you two okay? What happened? What was that sou-" Her face, which looked only a bit disconcerted before, had now shifted into an expression of pure

terror as she finally saw the child on fire behind us. The scream that came afterwards only served to hasten the footsteps nearby. A whole group composed of

of children had gathered around us, as the adults went off to bring water. "Who did it?", "What happened?", "What happened to your nose?", "Which one of you

is a mage?", "Can you teach me how to do that?". All of this incessant questioning didn't help, but I did not possess the vitality at that moment to react to

any of it. When the adults of the school came back, the woman who had seen us earlier pointed to my friend and yelled "He did it! He is a sorcerer!

He shouldn't know things like this yet!"

"Can you tell exactly what happened, kindheart?" asked Firdevie. I was home. Three hours had passed since the event, and gran was looking anxiously at me.

With my timid voice, I recounted my view of things as best I could. "Oh, dear..." Her warm hug was just as comforting as it always was. "It's all over now.

I'm sure your friend will be fine" she said.

"How?" I asked with a miserable tone. "He hurt someone and almost," I breathed in heavily, "killed him. Maybe he is dead."

"He probably isn't dear." Even though I could see through the white lie, gran had still succeeded in making me relatively more comfortable and calm.

"Besides, you told this exact story to the guards, right?" she asked. I nodded. Then you don't need to worry. They will consider what he has done to be

self-defence." I nodded again. Right before I was about to say something to her, Nacian entered our tent. "I heard about what happened. I came to check up

on Farriz." He crouched next to us and I got out from under gran's arm, and temporarily moved the small bag of ice on my nose.

"Did they only hurt your nose?" he asked.

"The boom was loud" I responded.

"Do your ears hurt?" he said while examining my face.

"They were painful right after lightning. They don't hurt right now."

"Do you hear any ringing in your ears?"

"No." A burdened sigh came out of him. "He seems to be fine. Just keep the ice on his nose, and he should all good." He looked at Firdevie. "What terrible

luck. There are always bullies in schools but them coming after someone on the first day?" His eyes were filled with mercy. "Food will be ready in a short

while. Are you hungry, little one?" he asked. I said yes. As he was leaving through the tent, I asked him something.

"Uncle Nacian, do you know how to fight?" His face lit up with intrigue. "Yes, son. I am among the best fighters in this settlement."

"Can you teach me how to fight?" I asked. A single eyebrow was raised on his wizened face. "Why do you want that?"

"I couldn't defend my friend. All the cantrips I know are useless in fighting, and the rest of my spells are all dryadic. People would find this place." I

replied confidently. "I need to learn to fight."

He looked at Firdevie with a questioning expression. His brownish skin portrayed his charisma well under the light seeping through the entrance of the tent. My envy

of his physique showed itself under this circumstance. "That is the man I want to be" I thought.

"If he wants to, I see no harm in it" said Firdevie. Nacian picked up the conversation from there. "He will have to deal with more bullies sooner or later."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Can we start now?" I asked, with my expected impatience. "Easy, boy" said Nacian. "You should heal and feel better about what happened first."

"Understood." Waves of determination washed over me. My unwillingness to give up had led me to this point, and it would continue to fuel my

self-improvement for much longer. I would not let anyone mistreat my loved ones.

"I must warn you," began Firdevie, "my brother can be quite a fierce teacher. I figure that a person with your personality can withstand him easily, but you

should be wary just in case."

"Hedley is worse." Her wondrous eyes drifted towards me. "Who is Hedley?".

"Our teacher" I said. "How bad?" she asked.

"Very bad."

The following day whizzed by as I anticipated my first lesson with Nacian. No altercations between me and my egregiously incompetent teacher took place

this time (thank Hísar). Attempting to contain my anticipation turned out to be quite a laborious process, as I didn't know exactly what was awaiting me.

Perhaps his style of tutoring would turn out to be quite cumbersome and straining, even for me. Or maybe it wouldn't, and I would proceed in my effort to

gain a new variety of prowess. Among my joyous moments of pondering, however, stood the memory of my previous inaction. Voices in the back of my head like

continuous water on one's forehead kept whispering. "Where were you in his time of need?", "What good are you if you cannot even defend those who depend on

you?"

"He would've been there for you."

When school ended I immediately went to the deserted alleyway in which Hearrain's ritual circle was. As I entered, I saw that the umbral pools in which I

would normally seek seclusion had draped themselves with an atmosphere of dread. Perhaps across the corner was another belligerent child, looking to get his

guts pierced by a tree of my creation. Such a horrible occurrence would never come to be, fortunately. I lifted a yellowish cloth on the floor to reveal the

circle of teleportation. Stepping into the enchanted mechanism, my vision shifted as a number of indeterminate shapes crossed my path through the Sichocht.

They were not incomprehensible, but rather were ever flowing and not bound by the physical laws to which we humans were accustomed to. As a result of this,

making my way through this magic road was surprisingly similar to wading through a sea of swirling rainbow paint. Eventually, the outlines of familiar

objects began to appear from beyond the chromatic veil. A table, a chair, a man. He slowly began approaching me as more and more things began coming into

view. My disorientation increased quite swiftly. By the time I'd completely become opaque in front of him, he was ready to grab me before I fell on the

floor.

"Be carefuul theyre, young chap" said Hearrain's husband. "We doon't want you to get huurt now, du we?"

"Thanks, Saozade" I said.

"Finallee, you kall me my neym! No 'sör' or 'uncle' nonsense" he said merrily. "Ar yuu able to waulk now?" he continued proudly.

"Yes, I can go" I answered. He let go of me. "Ai here thaet Nacian will train you today! Gud laack with that, he is a touf teecher."

"I know, thank you" I returned. "Goodbye."

"Teyk caere, young chap!"

Exiting the tent, I made my way home. Smells of cooked meat supplemented by the sights of mouth-watering fruits and vegetables allured me as I did so.

Firdevie had already set our table before I arrived. "There you are, dear! How was your day?" her smile shone.

"I was alive." She added a small bit of confusion to her cheerful expression . "Does that mean you're not alive now? Are you a ghost?" she said with the

softest sarcasm.

"It wasn't too bad, gran" I said. "Your lessons are so much better!"

"You're too sweet, dear" she responded. "Come now, my effervescent child. Nourish yourself."

"Can I go train with Nacian?" Impatience had become so engrained in my mind at this point that waiting for things made me feel like I was betraying my soul.

"Not yet!" she objected fiercely. "You must be hungry and tired. Don't even think about exercising that harshly before I feed you!" She forcefully

pulled me towards the table and sat me down on one of the chairs. The sleeve on her green robe brushed up against my cheek. We had a fine meal after that.

About an hour later I was waiting in front of Nacian's tent, waiting for him to get out. Written with embroidery above the entrance was a message that read

"Hayirh Lüánler". An almost circular empty space with a diameter of about eight meters was next to his "apartment". Just as I was about to leave and look

for the man elsewhere, he suddenly got out of his room. He let out a small yelp of fear.

"You scared me, Farriz! Why'd you sneak up on me like that?"

"Sorry. I didn't want to scare you" I replied.

"I see. How have you been?" he said while crossing his arms.

"Good. And you?"

"I'm fine as well, that is very kind of you to ask. I assume you want me to teach you now?"

"Mmhm" I returned while nodding. "Let me get something from inside." He returned to his tent. While he was looking for something I was able to get a brief

look inside. Unlike the exterior the interior was dyed with a deep, dark red. Several expertly woven kilims were laying on the floor. A circular metal tray

with a few dirty plates on it stood on the ground, which was peculiar considering there was a perfectly usable table in the room. On the table stood many

wooden carvings. Several of them depicted humans in surreal situations. It looked like most of these figures were telling some kind of myth. To my

fascination, a significant portion of these figures had been painstakingly colored. Their flamboyant hues along with their distinct and exaggerated style

clearly showed that they were the works of a single, unique vision. Nacian picked up his signature red silk band from on top of a cushion.

"Who made these?" I said. He turned around to look at me. "These?" he asked, pointing to the little statues. "This is all my wife's work."

"I've never seen her, can we meet sometime?" I asked, naively.

"Unfortunately no, son. She passed away years ago."

"Oh" was my response to this revelation. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Now, follow me to the training ground" he instructed while putting on his red band. I did as he asked. While walking out, a peculiar detail on the

kilims jumped out at me. They too seemed to be displaying tales from a grander religion.

As we were walking towards the middle of the training spot, he explained:

"Farriz, you're a boy. I completely accept that and I support you as a human being, but you were obviously not born the same as many other boys."

"I know" I added softly.

"People who are like those other boys generally have more muscle than someone like you" he continued. "If I were to teach self-defence to you in the exact

same that I would teach a boy like that, I would be failing you. For you to be able to properly fight back, you need to master defeating foes stronger than

you with practical solutions. Brute strength won't work."

"I understand" I said as we reached the center of empty field.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Of course!" I responded with excitement. He adjusted his red band.

"Prepare."